EVENTS LIST

Movement School For Revolutionaries

Richmond Progressive Alliance, Saturday, June 24th, 2017

This conference is sure to be an inspiring journey for all in attendance. This is our opportunity to come together and shake off the dust from the 2016 election season and start anew with a revived and refreshed determination to transform the political ground under our feet!

Check out these sample agenda items and let us know what you think!

Explore the context we are operating in, under our present political reality, and flesh out the “norms” embedded in our cultural assumptions.

See you June 24th at RPA in Richmond! (2540 MacDonald Avenue, Richmond, CA).

[The conference is being presented by Green Party members David Cobb (who was Jill Stein’s 2016 campaign manager) and Meleiza Figueroa (who was Jill Stein’s 2016 media coordinator).].

ImperialismWhite SupremacyCapitalismPatriarchy9:30-10:30(60 min.)

Current Historical MomentIntroduce and explore concept of ‘conjuncture’Discuss failures of Neoliberalism and the rise of NeofascismMel10:30-12:00(90 min.)

LUNCH12:00-12:30

Analytical ToolboxWhy the electoral terrain is important Political realignment in the 2016 electionTranslating revolt into revolutionReal Pragmatism: the Philosophy of PraxisHegemonic apparatus12:30-1:30(60 min.)

How Should Revolutionaries Engage in Elections?Changing the strategic questionDeveloping symbiotic relationshipsRebel cities1:30-2:30(60 min.)

March to Oscar Grant Plaza for MLK Day March. Stand with the valiant people of Haiti as they resist US occupation and foreign exploitation. Heed the call for solidarity from 68 Haitian grassroots organizations!

BART: We encourage everyone to take Bart if possible. Downtown Berkeley Station is 10 short minutes away from the venue by foot.

CAR: Limited street parking & fee lots are available in the area.

DIRECTIONS: Only 1 block from campus, Berkeley City Club serves UC Berkeley for events and hotel. It has a buzzer at the door — proceed to the Second Floor, turn left for the event room, ballroom door on right hand side. This building has a downstairs theater and there will be a play in progress during our rally, so we ask attendees to be respectful with noise while entering and exiting the building. No outside food permitted at the venue. Berkeley City Club (BCC) was built in 1929 and served as a Women’s Club for 36 years.

POLITICAL VOICE/ACTION in the face of corporate control of government and media

Join us for MUSIC with Hali Hammer and postal worker activist Dave Welsh

And Other Speakers:
• Mike Wilson from Berkeley Post Office Defenders • Shirley Taylor, national business agent for the American Postal Workers Union • Jesse Arreguin, Berkeley City Council member, with updates on Dept of Justice threat • Update of community garden with over the fence seed ball planting • Mike Zint, from First They Came for the Homeless– direct action post office presence

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September 19 – Kshama Sawant and Chris Hedges speaking in Oakland!

Please join Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant at a rally in Oakland for her re-election campaign! Mark your calendar now! RSVP on Facebook

From the streets of Baltimore to the growing movement for a $15 minimum wage, consistent protests are erupting against the endemic inequality and racism generated by Wall Street and their social system. With growing anger at the corporate policies of both main political parties, millions are looking for an alternative.

Since her election in 2013, Councilmember Sawant has led the opposition to the corporate agenda in the Pacific Northwest. An unapologetic fighter for working people, she refuses all corporate donations and accepts only the average worker’s wage, giving the rest of her salary back to social movements. Despite being a city councilmember, she has risked arrest in order to stand with workers fighting for a living wage in Sea-Tac and environmentalists blockading coal trains. Her re-election will inspire more oppressed people to fight for our rights, and it will prove again that it is completely possible to elect candidates who reject corporate cash.

Kshama Sawant has inspired movements across the country. That is why corporations across the country are funding her opponents’ campaigns. We in the Bay Area absolutely need to support her historic re-election. She cannot get re-elected without our active support. Mark your calendar, invite your friends, and join us at this rally and fundraiser!

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This Saturday, Strike Debt Bay Area Hosts a DEBTORS’ ASSEMBLY in Oakland

If I owe the bank thousands, the bank owns me; but if, together, we owe the banks trillions, then we own the banks.

You are not a loan! Attend the 4th Strike Debt Bay Area’s Debtors’ Assembly!

Come to the Assembly to learn about tools for escaping the closing walls of debt, to share resources and skills, and to magnify our assembled energy. As we share our experiences we can begin to take back from the financiers what they have taken from us….. our freedom and our future.

After comments and updates by musician and film-maker DARRYL CHERNEY and others, the documentary film “WHO BOMBED JUDI BARI?” will be screened.

Karen Pickett will host the program, and facilitate a Q & A session after the film.

Earlier in the day on May 24, people will gather to mark the moment and place where the bomb blew up. The location is across from the intersection of E. 33rd and Park Blvd, in front of Oakland High. Gather 11:30 am—12:30 (the explosion was close to 12 noon). Bring signs, songs, drums for a speak out and commemoration.

Background:
A bomb planted in a car exploded in Oakland on May 24, 1990, injuring EF! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. Judi was nearly killed. The FBI & OPD called the pair bomb-carrying terrorists, & proceeded to smear them and Earth First! as the Redwood Summer campaign was kicked off. The activists sued the FBI & Oakland Police for violation of Constitutional rights, and 12 years later, won an unprecedented victory against the FBI and OPD. Judi died of breast cancer in 1997. The bomber was never found, but the investigation continues TO THIS DAY.

Info: bach@HeadwatersPreserve.org or 510-548-3113.

Sponsored by the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian-Universalists, the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters and Earth First!

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Capitalism vs. the Climate: Naomi Klein on the Need for a New Economic Model to Address the Ecological Crisis

“Forget everything you think you know about global warming. The really inconvenient truth is that it’s not about carbon—it’s about capitalism. The convenient truth is that we can seize this existential crisis to transform our failed economic system and build something radically better.”

In her most provocative book yet, Naomi Klein tackles the most profound threat humanity has ever faced: the war our economic model is waging against life on earth. We have been told it’s impossible to get off fossil fuels when in fact we know exactly how to do it—it just requires breaking every rule in the “free-market” playbook: reining in corporate power, rebuilding local economies, and reclaiming our democracies.

We have also been told that humanity is too greedy and selfish to rise to this challenge. In fact, all around the world, the fight for the next economy and against reckless extraction is already succeeding in ways both surprising and inspiring. Climate change, Klein argues, is a civilizational wake-up call, a powerful message delivered in the language of fires, floods, storms, and droughts. Confronting it is no longer about changing the light bulbs. It’s about changing the world—before the world changes so drastically that no one is safe. Either we leap—or we sink.

MOBILIZATION!

HELP STOP THE SALE!

Sat. Nov. 1, 2014 2000 Allston Way on the steps of the

Berkeley Post Office

It’s now in contract TO BE STOLEN!

The fate of the downtown Berkeley Post Office has reached a crisis point. The transfer of the building to private ownership may be only days away. For this reason, Berkeley Post Office Defenders call for a collaborative mobilization of all those who oppose the threat of privatization. Individuals and organizations will gather to share music, establish an ongoing direct action presence, and provide updates and support for political and legal action including:

“Come play music! Bring instruments — including your singing voice, spoken word and dancing body. We will not allow our Post Office to be sold, and nothing can sustain persistent resistance like music. We will play until USPS stops pretending not to hear us say that our Post Office is not for sale!” You’re welcome to pre-schedule at http://tinyurl.com/mlxgpff

It’s time to establish and support a physical presence at the Downtown Berkeley Post Office. By taking direct action to defend our public goods, we affirm our reasons for living in community by sharing our energy and resources for the benefit of all.

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NorCal People’s Climate Rally

9/21/2014

Help us make history on September 21. In a few weeks time, the People’s Climate March – the largest climate march in history – will take place in New York City. We invite you to show your support and join us here, at the NorCal People’s Climate Rally happening in Oakland on the same day.

Sunday Sept 21st, 2 – 5 pm

Lake Merritt Amphitheater

It will be a family-friendly event, on the shore of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, just a few short blocks from the Lake Merritt BART station.

This event is free of charge, though donations will help to defray rental costs.

WHAT THIS PROGRAM IS ABOUTSince much of the public doesn’t know that mile-long trains of tank cars carrying oil are likely to start running along the East Bay urban corridor, right through the Tri-Cities, the main purpose is to inform the public about these prospects—and about these trains in general. And once informed, those attending will choose among possible plans of action. Learn more at the event website: http://eotif.weebly.com/

THE MAIN SPONSORING NON-PROFIT GROUPCitizens Against Hazardous Oil Trains (CAHOT) – the group’s Steering Committee includes the following Tri-City residents, all of them known for their civic involvement:

–To promote awareness of the hazards involved with the oil trains projected to be coming through the East Bay Corridor—and through Fremont.

–To encourage those in attendance to see the relationship of oil trains to the boom in gas and oil production enabled by hydraulic fracking, and to climate change.

–To empower those attending to move from awareness of climate change to local action.

PLANNED PROGRAM

1. First Speaker’s Presentation (30 min.)

What the crude oil trains involve and why people should be concerned about them (the hazards and dangers, the public-safety issues, etc.) Speaker is Jess Dervin-Ackerman, a dynamic activist who deals with the crude oil trains as well as other energy issues. She’s the Conservation Program coordinator at the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay Chapter who regularly conducts workshops in the East Bay.

2. Second Speaker’s Presentation (30 min.)

How the spike in oil trains is connected to the U.S. energy boom and to global climate change: what will be the consequences of burning all this fossil fuel? Confirmed speaker will be Diane Bailey, Senior Scientist, Health and Environment Program, at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in San Francisco.

3. Attendee Involvement with Additional Learning (60 min.)

Participants will move into small groups of their choosing – such as “Reaching Out to Other Groups,” “Organizing Neighborhood Meetings,” “Engaging Public Officials,” “Connecting with Broader Efforts to Oppose Fossil Fuels,” “Getting Media Coverage,” and “Using Social Media for a Better Environment” – to further engage the issues raised by the speakers.

– Tri-City Perspectives (one of the sponsors of the Second Saturday Documentary Film Series)

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Hello all,

Please see below for details of the signature part event for Jason Anderson our mayoral candidate. I am providing hot dogs and burgers – probably noodle salad! If others could bring – drinks, vegetable dishes for veggie lovers :) and /or help out at the grill – I would be very grateful!I have been informed that Randy Menjivar will be running for city council in his district, I have put out the word to him and hope that he, too will be present for signature gathering.

I hope as many Greens as possible stop by and sign – the deadline is soon approaching and we want to be sure our candidates have all the signatures that they need.

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RALPH NADER

WILL SPEAK ON THE STEPS OF THE

DOWNTOWN BERKELEY POST OFFICE

ABOUT THE POST OFFICE, PRIVATIZATION OF OUR PUBLIC GOODS

AND SERVICES & THE FIGHT TO DISMANTLE THE CORPORATE STATE

TUESDAY, JULY 29th

MUSIC FROM 2:00 PM TALK AT 2:30 PM

2000 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA

“Postmaster General Donahoe has demonstrated that he lacks the political courageto stand up to Congress and tell them that theycaused this mess and they need to fix it. Instead, time after time, he has chosen to take the easy road and dismantle the USPS piece by piece – whether it is by cutting post office hours, closing post offices, cutting service and delivery standards, increasing postage rates, or now ending Saturday delivery.”

The Berkeley Tenants Convention will be held on Sunday, July 13th, at 1:30 pm at the South Berkeley Senior Center. All Berkeley residents are invited to this historic grassroots event, where we will select the progressive Rent Board slate for the November 2014 ballot.

Three Greens will be among the candidates who hope to get the slate endorsement of the Convention.

The Tenants Convention, also called the Berkeley Affordable Housing Convention, has selected a slate of candidates for the Rent Stabilization Board for over 20 years. In 2012, 208 residents came to the convention and cast their votes. Groups like the Green Party of Alameda, Berkeley Citizens Action and the Grey Panthers support the convention and provide screeners to rate the candidates.

In 2012, the Rent Board race was the most hotly contested since vacancy decontrol in the 1990s. The Progressive Slate was opposed by “Tenants United for Fairness,” candidates funded primarily by apartment owners, realtors and executives from property management firms. In the end, three Progressive candidates and one TUFF member were elected. Following the race, several Fair Campaign Practices complaints and one lawsuit were filed.

Rents are rising all over the Bay Area, and people are finding it hard to afford housing here. More and more people are moving from San Francisco to the East Bay, accelerating the increasing cost of rentals. Renters’ rights have never been more important to protect and expand. “The convention is a real community process where people come together and have a voice and a vote in selecting a strong progressive slate for the Berkeley Rent Board,” said Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

This year there are five Rent Board Commissioner vacancies. At the convention, each aspiring commissioner will share their experience, philosophy, and goals. After everyone has spoken, the attendees will vote.

Homeowners, renters and smart landlords are invited to participate in this longstanding and unique Berkeley event, and help us find the most qualified candidates. All Berkeley residents who arrive by 2:00 pm and remain to hear candidates’ speeches will be offered a ballot. Residents cannot vote by proxy.

A $10 donation is requested to help pay for the room. Childcare is provided. Those who are unable to contribute are welcome to contact us in advance to volunteer at the event or during the subsequent campaign. For more information, please contact us at berkeleytenantconvention@gmail.com or
(510) 982-6696

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You are invited!

Ellen Brown and Laura Wells are scheduled to speak at events in Seaside, Richmond, Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco between Thursday, May 22 and Monday, May 26. Hope to see you at one, or more.

Ellen Brown is the Green no-corporate-money candidate for California Treasurer on June 3, 2014, and is the author of Web of Debt and The Public Bank Solution, from Austerity to Prosperity. Ellen has a wealth of information about Public Banking (and lots of other things) and she’s fun to be around!

May 23, Friday, 7:00 – 9:00 pm — Richmond, CA — Green Party Candidates Night, presenting Ellen Brown for Treasurer and Laura Wells for Controller. Richmond is the biggest city in the country with a Green Party mayor. Gayle McLaughlin and her no-corporate-money colleagues stand up to Chevron and Wall Street banks. LOCATION: 1021 McDonald Ave, Richmond, CA.

May 24, Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm — Sacramento, CA — March Against Monsanto, march and rally. Speakers include Luis Rodriguez for Governor, Ellen Brown for Treasurer, and Laura Wells for Controller. Speakers, entertainment, Green Party table and more. LOCATION of rally: North Steps of the California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA.

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Laura Wells on Public Banking: Updates on Postal Banking and the Post Office Predicament (3/29)

At noon on Saturday March 29th, Laura Wells, candidate for California State Controller, endorsed by the Green Party of California, will speak on the issue of public banking. She will be followed by comments on recent happenings around the possibility of Post Office banking and financial services, updates on where things stand with the (possibly imminent) sale of the Berkeley Post Office, the campaign against the outsourcing of Post Office jobs to Staples, music, letter-writing and more.

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Sat (3/22): Tom Neilson, Music for Social Change in Redwood City

Award winning song-writer, Tom Neilson brings his satire and social commentary to the Redwood City UU on Saturday, March 22 at 8:00 PM. Tom will be performing songs of wit and poignancy, to include autobiographical sketches you won’t want to miss. Come hear his takes on same sex marriage, contraception, lost love, alternative love, distance love, environmental love, human rights love, a love for peace, and more.

Tom is known for decades of peace and justice work and has converted these experiences into 21 awards and nominations to include a 2011 IMA Song of the Year Award, winning at the Kerrville and South Florida Folk Festivals, JPF International awards for songs and CDs, MASC Silver Award, plus four songs at number 1 on the Soundclick music charts. He has performed in 21 countries on 5 continents, and his music has been used in 9 documentaries and numerous stage and street theater productions.

Tuesday Rally in Oakland: Governor Brown, Don’t Frack California

Governor Brown’s administration is holding hearings on a study of fracking’s risks to California. CREDO and our allies are organizing a rally at Tuesday’s hearing in Oakland to call on the governor to stop fracking California.

This Tuesday, we have a major opportunity to mobilize and pressure Governor Brown to ban fracking in California.

Governor Brown’s administration is holding a public hearing on its planned environmental study of the risks that fracking poses to California. We’re working with our allies to organize a rally outside of the hearing to make it clear that we’re opposed to fracking in California.

Unfortunately, Governor Brown has put the cart before the horse in deciding whether to frack California. Instead of waiting for the state to study the risks posed by fracking, Governor Brown has allowed fracking to expand unchecked before we have any assurance that it is safe.

It’s bad enough that Governor Brown’s proposed fracking regulations will not protect California communities or the climate from fracking.1 That these regulations will be completed before the state finishes studying fracking is downright reckless and a shocking about-face for Governor Brown, who has built his legacy in part on being an environmental champion.

DEBT keeps us isolated, ashamed, and afraid – of becoming homeless, of going hungry, of being crippled or killed by treatable illness, or of being trapped in poverty-level jobs. Those facing foreclosure, medical debt, student debt, or credit card debt feel alone, hounded by debt collectors, and forced into unrewarding work to keep up with payments.

Join us for Strike Debt Bay Area’s third Debtors’ Assembly, where we will come together to understand debt in this modern society of ours and how to fight it collectively. This event is generously sponsored by the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee. .

This Debtors’ Assembly will be an opportunity for people to come together, gain an understanding of how debt works, share their own debt experiences, and work on various ways to change the unjust debt system and begin to organize debt resistance.

ORGANIZATION INFO: Strike Debt Bay Area is the local chapter of Strike Debt, an international movement of groups working to build popular resistance to all forms of unjust debt. Strike Debt has organized the Rolling Jubilee, the Debt Resistors Operations Manual, and local debtors’ assemblies.

Strike Debt supports the creation of just and sustainable economies, based on mutual aid, common goods, and public affluence. We owe the financial institutions nothing. It is to our friends, families and community that we owe everything.

Saturday’s Agenda will include:

-Discussion and analysis of the Rolling Jubilee and the recent medical debt buy

-Personal testimony about debt experience. Feel free to share as much or as little as you are comfortable. This is a safe space for us to shirk the stigma that is associated with what has become our ubiquitous debt.

We’ll also be talking about next steps in small groups. Please bring your ideas and curiosity!

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Time to Get A New Sheriff and District Attorney!

From evictions and racial profiling to the treatment of immigrants
and civil liberties, our current Sheriff and District Attorney do not
represent Alameda County.

Voice Your Own Grievances at a Town Hall Meeting.Tuesday, November 5th, 2013, 7:00 PM

Support the legal battle to save our post office

Plan on attending a benefit at Berkeley’s Hillside Club

Halt the Heist! Support the legal effort to save historic post offices.
Who Owns Our Post Offices, and Who Sells Them While the Nation Sleeps?
with Dr. Gray Brechin and Attorney Adam Ford

Dr. Gray Brechin will update us on saving magnificent buildings, unique art works, and the postal system itself that Americans are now losing to privatization. National Post Office Collaborate attorney Adam Ford is part of the litigation team working to protect the Berkeley Post Office. Mr. Ford will give us information on the progress of the case. This event is a benefit to support the legal action by the Berkeley-based National Post Office Collaborate. Come and help us raise funds for this important legal challenge! Save our Post Offices!

Come to a community meeting to plan our next steps.
Share your ideas! All are welcome.

Speak up at a City Council Meeting to support zoning restrictions that will preserve the use of the Post Office building at 2000 Allston Way and other buildings in the Civic Center District for cultural, educational and civic uses. Clear and specific zoning will provide guidance to USPS on the uses that our community will accept as appropriate.

General discussion of goals, strategies and tasks plus help plan local events for Friday and/or Saturday, July 26 & 27, a National Protest against the illegal sale of our post offices and Celebration of the founding of the post office in 1775.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
– Fourth Amendment, US Constitution

This Fourth of July, groups of concerned individuals will be taking to the streets in dozens of cities across the United States in support of the Fourth Amendment. According to the official website, Restore the Fourth aims to end all forms of unconstitutional surveillance of digital communications by the United States government. The campaign calls particular attention to PRISM, a recently-revealed project of the National Security Agency that allows the government broad access to the Internet traffic and other electronic communications of many users – including many Americans. The Restore the Fourth movement has an active reddit community that is working cooperatively to organize protests across the country.

There are many ways to protest unconstitutional surveillance – including signing onto the Stop Watching Us site and calling your elected officials – but physical protests can be particularly effective at demonstrating public outrage. We’re glad to see the Restore the Fourth movement organizing protests across the country against unlawful NSA spying, and we hope these protests push elected officials to respond to the American people’s growing discontent with dragnet domestic surveillance.

On the officials website, the Restore the Fourth movement asserts that the National Security Agency’s dragnet surveillance is an affront to the public – even if individuals have nothing in particular to hide. It notes that, “Privacy is not an admission of guilt…The average person expects privacy in many situations, including but not limited to using the bathroom, writing a diary, or going on a date with a spouse. A reasonable expectation of privacy exists in such situations because the events occurring are personal, intimate, and not the business of any other party, government or otherwise.” The site also questions whether programs such as PRISM are effective or even useful in stopping terrorist attacks, noting, “there is little to no evidence of any terrorist attacks that have directly been foiled as a result of PRISM.”

The campaign is a non-partisan, grassroots movement not directly affiliated with any nonprofit. However, the campaign has committed to standing with EFF and the rest of the Stop Watching Us coalition in demanding transparency and meaningful reform to domestic surveillance programs.

EFF is sending a representative to the San Francisco protest; please stop by Civic Center at 11 AM on July 4th to pick up EFF stickers, hear us talk about the issues with dragnet surveillance, and show your opposition to the NSA’s unconstitutional spying program.

Numerous websites (including EFF) are planning to show solidarity for this grassroots movement by displaying the Fourth Amendment on our homepage on July 4th. We’ll have an embeddable graphic available soon; check back in the next couple days.

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Capitalism Is Killing The Planet: The Case For Ecosocialism

Friday June 14th, 7:00 PM

Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph, Oakland 94609

Profit driven economic growth and its reliance on fossil fuels places it at odds with both people and our planet’s life giving ecosystems. The ecosocialist project wants to build a new, socially just, sustainable society based on grassroots democracy and within ecological limits by building a mass movement against climate change and environmental disasters. We want to create a society which focuses on ecological restoration and use value to meet human needs, not exchange value and ecological destruction to maximize profits for the capitalist ruling class.

What: Because we raised our voices we’ve made amazing strides in the state legislature. A reconciled moratorium bill will likely make it onto the assembly floor for a vote. Governor Brown says he is committed to fighting climate change. Let’s let him know that includes stopping fracking in the Golden State.

Tens of thousands of signatures on Petitions will be given to the Governor as we launch a new statewide coalition, Californians Against Fracking.

The rally is timed to coincide with the west coast release of Gasland Part II in LA. It should be short, sweet and fun. Come get re-energized and show your support!

Sign the petition:

Sign this petition buy a nine year old girl asking Gov. Brown to ban fracking in California. Sign here.

Please join many other Greens on the streets to get our voices heard on Monsanto for this worldwide day of protest!

March Against Monsanto (MAM) Statement:

On May 25, activists around the world will unite to March Against Monsanto.

Why do we march?

Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.

In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-led research on the long-term effects of GM products.

Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.

For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.

Monsanto’s GM seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have contributed to Colony Collapse Disorder among the world’s bee population.

What are solutions we advocate?

Voting with your dollar by buying organic and boycotting Monsanto-owned companies that use GMOs in their products.

Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make those informed decisions easier. Repealing relevant provisions of the US’s “Monsanto Protection Act.” Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.

Holding Monsanto executives and Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc. Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto’s secrets.

Taking to the streets to show the world and Monsanto that we won’t take these injustices quietly.

We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto.

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A Little Taste of Ecuador

A sampling of the stunning natural beauty, music, culture, food, as well as revolutionary politics of Ecuador, plus a talk by author Roger Burbach on Ecuador and socialist movements in Latin America.

The evening will include a multimedia presentation featuring Ecuadoran music and photos and videos taken during a recent visit by Jonathan Nack and Hannah Karpilow; tasting some typical Ecuadoran recipes; a bit of travel log; a political report on the social and economic changes under the government of President Rafael Correa and the political process Correa calls the Citizen’s Revolution; and more, including ample time for audience participation and discussion.

Free admission – food and refreshments will be limited – first come, first served.

This event is wheelchair accessible.

Roger Burbach, noted author, and Director of the Center for the Study of the Americas, will be a guest speaker at “A Little Taste of Ecuador,” on May 10, at the Niebyl Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland beginning at 6:00 pm.

Mr. Burbach has written extensively on Latin America and U.S. foreign policy for over four decades. He is a co-author of the new book, “Latin America’s Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-First Century Socialism” (2013, Fernwood Publishing/Zed Books).

In recent years he has studied the emergent system of globalization and written about the new Latin American social movements and the renewed quest for socialism.

He will comment on political developments in Ecuador under the Presidency of Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s “Citizen’s Revolution”, and how Ecuador fits into the emerging picture of leftist led governments, and socialist oriented social movements that has been sweeping Latin America. Mr. Burbach will also speak on the impact in Latin America on the passing of President Hugo Chavez.

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Halt the Heist Rally! Tuesday May 7, 2013, 3pm

Halt the Heist Rally!

Tuesday May 7th at 3:00 pm

It’s not just the post office that’s being privatized.Our schools, our public spaces, parks and services are all at risk.

Join Us!
Help save our public commons!

On April 22, 2013, the USPS approved “the relocation of the Berkeley Main Post Office located at 2000 Allston Way, to a yet to be determined location.” After operations are relocated, the USPS plans to sell our historic 99-year old Post Office.

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Join Idle No More, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Communities for a Better Environment, and over 60 other environmental and climate justice groups on Earth Day as we gather at the San Francisco office of the EPA to make them listen to communities hardest hit by fossil fuel and toxic industries. We will demand the EPA do their job and protect our climate, health & communities, not polluters–and senior EPA officials will be there to listen.

* From the EPA, we’ll march to the State Department at One Market Plaza. In addition to Earth Day, it’s also the last day for public comment on the Keystone XL Pipeline’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), written in part by a TransCanada (pipeline company) consultant. We’ll give them our comments loud and clear, just in case they don’t hear the hundreds of thousands of comments being emailed or the outrage of people forced from their from their homes by the Arkansas oil pipeline spill.

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Bay Area Ecosocialist Network Event: Saturday, April 27th, 7 pm

After a period of inactivity, we want to renew our efforts to build an ecosocialist current here in the Bay Area. Luckily, Quincy Saul, co-founder of Ecosocialist Horizons, will be in the Bay Area late this month, and we have set up an event with Theresa Shoatz at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library on Saturday, April 27 at 7:00 PM. Below is a sum- up of their presentation.

Ecosocialist Action on the Horizon:A report and presentation about the work of Ecosocialist Horizons, featuring Quincy Saul and Theresa Shoatz.

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Ecosocialist Horizons is an organization founded in 2011, which has been very active over the past year in organizing and educating around ecosocialist principles and ideas. This report on ecosocialist praxis will illustrate what this group has been doing, and describe the theoretical and strategic foundations for its activities. Quincy Saul, co-founder of Ecosocialist Horizons and senior editor of the ecosocialist journal Capitalism Nature Socialism, will explain the practical work and political vision of this organization, framed as an invitation to the people of Oakland and the Bay Area to join this movement. Theresa Shoatz, associate of Ecosocialist Horizons and co-chair of the International Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, will provide a perspective of ecosocialism as seen from black urban communities suffering from the prison industrial complex, the capitalist food system, and the possibilities of revolutionary community organizing.

WE HOPE THAT YOU CAN COME TO THE LIBRARY AT 6501 TELEGRAPH IN OAKLAND FOR THIS EVENT ON SATURDAY, APRIL 27 AT 7 PM.

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This Sunday April 21, after the 2:00 pm Occupy Oakland General Assembly at Oscar Grant (Frank Ogawa) Plaza (in front of City Hall, just west of 14th and Broadway, Oakalnd), Occupy Oakland participant and 2010 Green Party Governor candidate Laura Wells will report back on the Venezuelan election after serving there as an international elections monitor. Hugo Chavez’s successor and incumbent President Nicolas Maduro has been declared the victor. She will then lead a discussion on “What California Can Learn from Hugo Chavez and Venezuela.”

Ten Things I Learned from Hugo Chávez

I like to gather signs of hope that things really can change for the better in a major way. With that in mind, I keep the website venezuelanalysis.com as my home page. On the afternoon of March 5, 2013, I had to catch my breath when I saw the headline, “President Hugo Chávez has Died.” Almost ten years ago, inspired by the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised , I started learning as much as I could about Venezuela and Hugo Chávez. I participated in “reality tours” and political delegations to show solidarity, and to bring the lessons back home. Here are some things I learned.

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Weds. in SF: Tell Obama to Stop the Next Tar Sands Disaster

Friends,

Last Friday, this happened in the city of Mayflower, Arkansas:
An Exxon tar sands pipeline burst, spilling a yet unknown amount of toxic oil into the surrounding community. As bad as this is, it could be worse — the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would carry 10 times as much oil as the pipeline that broke. And even when that oil doesn’t spill, it becomes equally dangerous when it’s refined and turned into climate-cooking CO2.

President Obama has a decision to make: he can stand up against this kind of destruction and stop Keystone XL, or let the tar sands flow, 800,000 barrels a day from Canada through a dangerous high pressure pipline.

The President is headed to the Bay Area this week, and when he does, we’ll be ready. We’re planning to meet him at his fundraiser, and send him a big message: it’s time to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline for good.

The goal is to be unavoidable before the fundraiser — we’ll have signs and banners, so you can just show up ready to make some noise. This is one of the best ways to reach the President before he makes a decision about the pipline — and meet other great climate activists in the Bay.

Can you be there Wednesday at 5 PM when the President arrives in San Francisco?

When: Wednesday, April 3rd at 5:30pm (note the change of time from 5pm)

Who: It’ll be a party, with lots of folks from CREDO, 350.org, 350 Bay Area, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network, Alliance for Climate Education and others.

Also, we just found out that President Obama is holding a second fundraiser Thursday morning at 8:15 AM in Atherton. Whether you can make it or not to the event on Wednesday, this is another important opportunity to send a personal message to the President (and nothing makes for better friends than early morning actions).

Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern has drafted policies covering his plans to use aerial drones in crime, fire, rescue and disaster operations. That prospect aroused opposition from civil libertarians who fear that drones will snoop on law-abiding citizens and shred Fourth Amendment guarantees against being searched without a warrant. Sheriff Ahern’s plans were important enough to prompt an editorial in the New York Times warning that the rules governing the deployment of drones “should guarantee the strongest protection of privacy under what promises to be a galaxy of new eyes in the sky.

The Public Protection Committee will be having a hearing on the Alameda County Sheriff’s intention to purchase and deploy a drone. Come tell them NO to DRONES in Alameda County!

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Green Party Vice Presidential candidate and Homeless Advocate will be in the Bay Area this weekend from Sunday October 21 to Monday October 22nd. She will be participating at events in the community and at a community college in various parts of the Region.

MONDAY: Cheri Honkala will start the day at De Anza college in Cupertino where she will be speaking at a really for Voter Awareness month. Following this, she will be in Oakland at the screening of Brooklyn Castle being hosted by the Hip Hop Chess Federation and Youth Uprising in Oakland from 4 – 5 pm. She will then be participating on a panel discussion in San Francisco hosted by Davey D at a location yet to be determined. Cheri will be concluding her trip in Berkeley at the headquarters of Green Mayoral Candidate and founder of UC Berkley students for Hip Hop, Kahlil Jacobs Fantauzzi from 7pm-9:30 pm.

Honkala is National Coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s largest multi-racial, inter-generational movements led by the poor and homeless. Compelled by her own experience as a homeless, single mom, Honkala has spent nearly three decades working directly alongside the poor to build the movement to end poverty, and has organized tens of thousands of people to take action via marches, demonstrations and tent cities.

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Green Party Presidential Forum (Sat 5/12):

Roseanne Barr, Jill Stein and Kent Mesplay

Co-Sponsored by the League of Women Voters, KALW-FM’s Rose Aguilar Will Moderate

SAN FRANCISCO–Presidential candidates Roseanne Barr, Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein will face-off the evening of Saturday, May 12, as Greens all across California are getting ready to go to the polls and vote. Joining them on stage at the Victoria Theatre will be Rose Aguilar, Host of “Your Call” on KALW-FM and author of “Red Highways, A Liberal’s Journey Through the Heartland.”

Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, the forum is scheduled to coincide with a Green Party of California plenary May 12 and 13, also in San Francisco. California Greens will have the largest delegation heading into the Green Party’s Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, July 12-15.

Dr. Jill Stein has been endorsed by Professor Noam Chomsky

Jill Stein has run several strong campaigns in her home state of Massachusetts and has been active in the Occupy movement. Jill is a 1979 graduate of Harvard Medical School, serves on several boards, and has been active with the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy
Communities. When asked by The New York Times, “Does President Obama deserve credit for health care and other accomplishments?” Jill responded, “Small time, sure. There are minor improvements. But on the other hand, he took single-payer off the table. He absolutely took a public option off the table. As we found on issue after issue — the war, reappointing George Bush’s secretary of defense, sticking to George Bush’s timeline on Iraq, expanding the war, expanding the drone wars all over the place. And how about bringing Wall Street in, the guys who created the problem, among his first appointments. It was pretty clear right then that this was going to be business as usual on steroids. We’re certainly not more secure, more equitable, more healthy or safer internationally, with what Obama has brought.”

Roseanne Barr has been endorsed by NORML, Cynthia McKinney and Cindy Sheehan

Aside from her Emmy award winning role as a working class “domestic goddess,” Roseanne Conner, Roseanne Barr has been a champion for social justice issues for decades, supporting and bringing attention women’s rights, the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, among other issues. She supports the Occupy movement and her platform focuses on the legalization of marijuana, economic reforms on Wall St., and ending war, in particular bringing peace to Israel / Palestine through the right of return for Palestinians, removal of the wall, and stopping US military funding for Israel. In her Green FAQ, Roseanne stated: “The ‘two party’ system is clearly broken. The 1 percent has two political parties—Democratic and Republican— but the 99 percent only has one: The Green Party. . . The Green Party is already well-positioned as an existing party and with the right candidate, the underlying sanity of its platform can not only reach new ears, it can change both the course of conversation in America and the course of this country itself.”

Kent Mesplay focuses on environmental issues and advocates that “sustainability is security”.

Kent Mesplay wants to help California become a national and national leader in areas critical to mitigating the effects of Global Climate Change. He calls for state and national energy independence based upon renewable energy (wind and solar), which will create jobs, help clean up the environment by reducing carbon in the atmosphere and improve our basic physical security by promoting decentralization of power. He notes the fact that when we meet our needs in a sustainable manner at home, we are less likely to concern ourselves with oil markets elsewhere. Kent also advocates solutions such as single payer health insurance, ranked choice voting and publicly funded campaigns as a move away from the current system of legalized bribery in campaigning. “In short,” Kent says, “we need good governance, we need Green values and we need to get the influence of money out of politics. And we certainly need to cut bloated Pentagon spending and waste, and enact an independent, trusted system to audit military spending.”

March 2012

Wednesday March 14th, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PMThe Wake-Up Call from Fukushima(**NOTE: Site is not wheelchair accessible**) http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/02/28/18708336.php Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Education Bldg., 2nd Floor, Connie Barbour Rm., 1606 Bonita, Berkeley http://www.bfuu.org
The Fukushima tragedy began one year ago, March 11, 2011. The international nuclear industry met and devised a plan to block media coverage shortly after the Fukushima disasters, and the Obama administration called off additional testing for radiation in the US. But UC Berkeley School of Nuclear Engineering tested and found elevated levels of radiation in SF Bay area food, milk, soil and water. Speaker Prof. Akira Murakami is fluent in English. His talk will cover: how people are still living in what should be “Exclusion Zones”; campaigns for mothers and children; radioactive contamination spreading through food and waste material; and the cover-up by the government and the media. Co-sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Cmtee and Ecological Options Network (EON): http://www.eon3.net Suggested donation $5-$10. No one turned away. Not wheelchair accessible. Ph:510-841-4824

Friday March 16th, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM New Film Screening of ‘A Darker Shade of Green’ http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/03/01/18708517.php Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists’ Hall, 1924 Cedar (@Bonita), Berkeleyhttp://www.bfuu.orgJeff Conant of Global Justice Ecology Project presents this new film, documenting opposition among Indigenous Peoples, forest-dependent communities and environmental justice groups around the globe, to controversial programs that claim to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) by putting forests into the carbon market. As REDD policies and programs are promoted around the world by corporations and governments, some are raising the alarm that these programs will have serious negative impacts—and will not mitigate climate change.Watch the trailer here: http://youtu.be/kJaQGFLp7lM
Sponsored by the Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas. For more information, call 415-924-3227 or visit: http://www.mitfamericas.org Suggested donation $5-$10. No one turned away. Wheelchair accessible.

Saturday, March 17th, 2012, Noon to 5:00 PMFirst BBQ Community Event: Sign Up to Bring a Dish – Arroyo Park, Oakland http://occupyoakland.org/2012/03/first-bbq-community-event-march-17th-sign-up-to-bring-a-dish/ Arroyo Park, near 77th and Bancroft in East OaklandOccupy Oakland is planning our first BBQ and Speak Out event.There will be free medic training hosted by the People’s Community Medics, plus arts and crafts, music, a children’s village, literature, workshops, and free food. We are requesting help with side dishes and desserts from all cooks who are able to help. We plan on serving at least 400 people, so anything would be amazing. The OO Kitchen’s wish list is: salads, fruit, whole or fruit salad, desserts, snacks, side dishes, veggie options a plus (soups, lentils, pasta, rice, etc.) and juices – We have some 5 gallon containers and would like to provide healthy options such as homemade lemonade or agua frescas. Please let us know what your ideas are, how you would like to help, and what support you will need, if any. Please spread the word to others who might be interested. Also, if you are not able to lead a cooking project, but would like to help other cooks, please send an email to us and we can direct you to the main kitchen group for BBQ support. Our email is: kitchen@occupyoakland.org.
Let’s expand the Occupy Oakland community and make a beautiful meal for everyone!

Thu, 3-1Occupy Education events, including a 99 mile March for Education and Social Justice. The march will start at UC Berkeley and will culminate in Sacramento on March 5th (see below). For other 3-1 events, after c. 2-21, see: www.occupyeducationca.org

Mon, 3-5Occupy Education events, including Occupation of the State Capitol: Thousands of students, workers, and teachers from around the state will converge on the capitol and demand universal, free public education in California, and an occupation of the capitol building will begin. More info (including transportation info): www.occupyeducationca.org

GREEN CAMPAIGN 2008:

A PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE THAT MATTERS

Held in San Francisco’s historic Herbst Theater on January 13th, 2008

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

It was a brilliant event! 800 attendees, nearly a full house, in one of the nicest venues in San Francisco, the historic Herbst. All the candidates appeared at their best, and were exceptional on stage. All great spokespersons, and fine examples of the Green movement. The Great Green Debate made the local TV news and newspapers, and was mentioned on Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now. Thanks to Mike Feinstein’s crew, it is now available in documentary format on YouTube (see below). And KPFA radio’s full 3-hour taping of the event, with Green MC Aimee Allison and political analyst Larry Bensky was aired Tuesday night, 1/15, at 7 pm (Pacific Time), on 94.1 FM in the Bay Area, and streamed for the world online at www.kpfa.org . You can download the podcast of that show at www.kpfa.org/greenparty2008 and see for yourself what the Green Party can look like, in the proper setting. Superb!